Now that the second half of the Major League Baseball season is in full swing, it is time to take a close look at who is hot and who is cold. After all, this is not the time for any player to go into a slump. If they do, and there team is on the playoff fence, there is a chance that they will have their work cut out for them in a month or so.

Over the past seven days, Jermaine Dye of the Chicago White Sox has been on a tear. He batted .370, hit four homeruns, and scored eight times. This is a good sign for a White Sox team that is trying to gain ground in their division.

Carlos Pena is perhaps the hottest hitter over the past week. He is batting a red hot .421, and has combined this with seven runs scored and eight RBI’s.

But as you know, where there are hot players, there are also those on the other end of the stick. Let’s start off by taking a closer look at Johnny Estrada of the Milwaukee Brewers. Believe it or not, in the last seven days he has not hit a single homerun, or for that matter, has not even crossed the plate. This is a huge contrast to the way that he played during the first half of the season.

If the Seattle Mariners are going to make a run at the playoffs, they will need their pitchers to step up in a big way. Unfortunately, it is safe to say that Eric O’Flaherty has done anything but that. In the last week he has yet to win a game, and has an ERA of 45.00. This is after a solid first half when he won six games in relief.

Is your favorite player heating up or cooling down? If hot, you can only pray that things are going to stay that way. And if not, breaking out of their slump sooner rather than later is a must!

Source: boston.com